1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a strap attachment assembly.
2. Description of Background Art
Human body functions may be monitored during a sports or physical activity session by means of a wrist computer or other like sports instrument. Typically, a wrist computer incorporates a pulse-sensing transmitter belt attachable by a flexible strap to the human body. Such a measurement unit equipped with electrodes sends the measurement signal wirelessly to a wristwatch-like computer wherein at least a portion of the received signal is processed and visualized on the computer display. In addition to pulse monitoring, wrist computers may be used for measuring blood pressure, velocity, acceleration, distance traveled, step count and directional data.
A sports instrument is complemented with a strap by means of which the instrument is attached on the user's wrist or other location of use. As the strap is assumed to have different properties in different operating conditions and sites, the strap shall be replaceable as necessary. For instance, the strap of a sports instrument to be fit over a coat sleeve must obviously be longer than a strap fittable on the wrist. In heavy sports activities the strap must be as non-sweating as possible. In the case that the sports instrument is attached to, e.g., a bicycle or surfing board, again a different strap suited to the present location of use is needed.
Conventionally, the strap is mounted on the sports instrument with the help of a mechanism similar to that used for attaching a strap to a wrist watch. One embodiment of this kind of mechanism comprises a spring-loaded collapsible pin while the sports instrument incorporates pin holes adapted to receive the pin tips. For mounting and dismounting the strap, the pin is compressed to fit the pin tips into the pin holes of the sports instrument or to remove the tips from the pin holes. Generally, a suitable special tool must be employed to compress the pin thus resulting in a complicated and time-consuming strap replacement.